Metallica: Master Of Puppets Songs Ranked

8. Leper Messiah

A core theme of Master of Puppets is the idea of control and humans losing their sense of self. In this case, Hetfield spits with enhanced venom at televangelists who use religion as a ploy to manipulate followers to do their bidding.

Coming as it does after the slamfest of "Disposable Heroes," "Leper Messiah" is a great way to calm down the listener by settling into a nice midtempo groove (well, midtempo for Metallica, anyway) that chugs with gravitas without ever seeming lethargic. That is, up until about halfway through when the tempo shifts and we get a galloping riff on both guitar and double bass drums followed by a solo from Hammett that can only be described as cascading. And after lambasting these wicked religious figures, the midtempo groove returns to close the song out.

It's not necessarily fair to put this song at the final spot, given that this would be a marvelous standout on any other Metallica release. However, while it is a great Metallica song, it doesn't make it past any of the other songs into full classic mode. The tune is a bit of Metallica by numbers, but it's still better than thousands of bands at their best.